Adyen, the global financial technology platform of choice for leading businesses, has published new research revealing the billions the UK retail sector loses to fraudulent activity annually.
Working alongside the Centre for Economic Business and Research (Cebr), Adyen found that the retail sector lost £11.3 billion to fraud in 2023. On average, enterprises lost £1.4 million to fraudulent attacks, though luxury fashion retailers lost £2.8 million, clothing and accessory businesses £2.6 million and health and beauty brands £1.1 million each.
Over a third of UK businesses (35%) fell victim to fraudulent activity, cyber-attacks or data leaks over the last 12 months, which has increased by 37% when comparing to 2022’s numbers.
The research found that those businesses who predicted to grow their revenues by 50 – 100% or more in 2024 also lost the highest amount to fraudulent attacks over the past 12 months (£3.8 billion), as Adyen warns that fast growth must be met with the right technologies in place to protect the business and customers.
Fraudulent activity is also impacting shopper wallets, with 33% of UK consumers becoming a victim of payments fraud over the past year, compared to 23% falling victim in 2022. Payment fraud is defined as a fraudster stealing someone’s credit or debit card number, or checking account data, and using that payment information to make an unauthorised purchase.